When you are reading something in English and you see a word or words you do not know, what do you do? Do you pause and look up the definitions? Or do you put down the reading and find something different to read?

在英語閱讀過程中，要是遇到不認識的單詞或詞組，你會怎么做？會停下來查找詞義？還是

記下筆記，選擇其他閱讀內(nèi)容？

Neither solution is ideal.

這兩種方法都不理想。

Unless you are reading at a level that is clearly too high for you, avoiding reading may leave you feeling defeated. And pausing to look up every word can slow down your reading.

除非你所閱讀的內(nèi)容水平明顯高于你，回避閱讀會讓你感到挫敗。停下來一個一個單詞的查找意思，會減慢你的閱讀速度。

There is a better solution: using context clues.

利用上下文線索，不失為一個好的閱讀方法。

A context clue is a piece of information that appears near an unknown word or phrase and makes its meaning clearer. Context clues are right there in the text. But sometimes we don't see them.

上下文線索往往出現(xiàn)在未知的單詞或短語附近，它會把文本中難以理解的意思簡單化。而這個關(guān)鍵的線索卻往往容易被我們忽略。

Reading is one of the best ways to improve your English. So in this week's Education Tips, we will talk about four kinds of context clues that can help you become a better reader.

閱讀是英語學(xué)習(xí)的有效方法之一。本周英語學(xué)習(xí)小竅門中，我們一起來學(xué)習(xí)4種上下文線索，幫助大家更好的進行英語閱讀。

Tip #1: Synonyms

Tip#1:同義詞

The first kind is synonyms.

第1種就是利用同義詞。

As you come across unknown words while reading, look for synonyms. A synonym is a word or phrase that has a similar meaning to the unknown word.

當(dāng)在閱讀時遇到不會的單詞時，試著去找尋同義詞。

Read this short passage from a Learning English story in 2015 and consider what 'fundraiser' means:

閱讀下面短文（摘自2015年英語學(xué)習(xí)故事），讓我們來思考下“fundraiser”是什么意思：

Japanese food and music were also served to the 100 or so people who attended the event. This was the third year the fundraiser was held. Money raised from ticket sales – each ticket cost $100 to $150 – supports the National Cherry Blossom Festival.（請嘗試閱讀理解）

Looking at the first sentence, you see an event is being discussed. In the second, the writer replaces the word ' event' with the word 'fundraiser.' When one word replaces another in a text, often it is a synonym. So, you might suppose that a fundraiser is some kind of event.

讓我們來看第一句話，第一句話向我們展示了討論的事件。第二句話，作者將事件（event）一詞替換為”fundraiser”。一般來說，文章中的一個詞被另一個詞所替代，它們很有可能是同義詞。因此，”fundraiser“可以被認為是某種事件的意思。

The third and fourth sentences say more about the kind of event: it has music and food and is raising money for a festival through ticket sales. And that's often what happens at a fundraiser, which is a ticketed social event that raises money for a cause.

第三、四句話則向我們透露了更多關(guān)于該事件的信息：事件包含了音樂和食物，慶典的舉辦費用是用過售票獲得的。這通常在“fundraiser”時進行，事件的進行需要提供付費門票，而收集的費用往往用于某種特定原因。所以，fundraiser即是“資金籌集活動”的意思。

Tip #2: Antonyms

Tip #2:反義詞

The second kind of clue is antonyms.

第2種就是利用反義詞。

Antonyms are words that mean the opposite of a word.

反義詞（antonyms）意為意思相反的詞。

One way to identify an antonym is to look for contrast words, such as 'but,' 'however,' 'though,' 'although,' 'unlike,' 'whereas' and 'despite.' These words signal that some opposite idea or meaning is coming.

確認反義詞的其中一個方法，就是尋找 對比詞，如 'but,' 'however,' 'though,' 'although,' 'unlike,' 'whereas', 'despite”這類標志詞。這些詞標志詞的出現(xiàn)意味著接下來表達的內(nèi)容將會與之前的內(nèi)容相反。

Let's look at this sentence from a recent Learning English story. See if the contrast word 'although' helps you understand what a 'critic' is.

讓我們來看看下面一則英語學(xué)習(xí)故事的內(nèi)容。看看對比詞“although”是如何幫助我們理解”critic”一詞的意思。

The United States will begin restricting visas to citizens from six other countries on February 21, although critics question the move. （請嘗試閱讀理解）

The first part of the sentence states a policy change on visas. In the second part, the word 'although' signals that contrasting information is coming, which is that critics are questioning the new policy. From this, we might guess that a critic is a person who disapproves of something.

第一句告訴我們簽證政策發(fā)生了改變。第二句標志詞”although”預(yù)示著下述內(nèi)容會與上述相反?！眂ritics”意為對新政策的質(zhì)疑。通過反義詞解答，我們可以猜到”critic”意為對某事持反對意見的人。即是“批評者”的意思。

Tip #3: Appositives

Tip #3:同位語

The third kind of clue is appositives.

第3種就是利用同位語。

An appositive is a noun or noun phrase that comes after another noun, where the second defines the first. That definition will make more sense after looking at the example below. It uses an appositive to explain the meaning of the word 'constellation.' Here it is:

同位語，即為名詞后面出現(xiàn)的名詞或名詞詞組，并對第一個出現(xiàn)的名詞進行定義。下面的例子可以幫助我們更好的理解何為 同位語，它是如何對“constellation”的意思進行解釋。

Constellations, or groups of stars that form shapes in the sky, usually represent a mythological person or creature or a nonliving object. （請嘗試閱讀理解）

The sentence uses a comma followed by the word 'or' to introduce the appositive 'groups of stars that form shapes in the sky.' Punctuation is important here: Appositives usually have a comma before and after them.

句子中使用了“or”一詞，分隔需要進行解釋的同位語（constellations），后續(xù)意思為“天空中的星群”。符號這個標志尤為重要，因為同位語往往使用逗號對需要解釋的內(nèi)容進行分割。

But note that sometimes appositives do not use the signal word 'or.' And be careful -- commas have many purposes in written texts and they do not always signal appositives.

但需要注意，有時同位語會省略標志詞“or”，而逗號在書寫體中有非常多的含義，同位語僅為逗號的多種用法之一。因此，出現(xiàn)逗號不意味著一定就是同位語。

Tip #4: Examples

Tip #4:舉例說明

The fourth kind of clue is examples.

第4種就是利用舉例說明

Examples can help explain the meaning of a word or idea. In English, the most common ways we introduce examples are with the phrases 'for example,' 'for instance,' 'such as' and 'like.'

舉例說明能幫助解釋單詞或想法。英語中最普遍的舉例說明標志詞包括：'for example'， 'for instance'， 'such as' ， 'like”。

Here is a passage from a 2019 Learning English report about superbugs in the United States. See if the example helps you understand the meaning of 'superbug.'

下面是一篇關(guān)于美國'superbug'的文章（摘自2019年英語學(xué)習(xí)報道）。讓我們一起看看舉例說明是如何幫助我們理解 “ superbug”一詞 的意思。

Superbugs are appearing much more often outside of hospitals, the CDC report said. For example, urinary tract infections have been easily treated in doctor's offices with common antibiotic medicines. But now it is more common to see healthy young women with such infections admitted to hospitals after their treatments do not work, said Doctor Bradley Frazee.（請嘗試閱讀理解）

So what might a 'superbug' be? The example provided is of an infection that is not easily treated with antibiotics anymore. And that is exactly what a superbug is.

所以，什么是“superbug”呢？文中舉例說明，那是一種用抗生素難以治愈的傳染病。而這句話就是“superbug”表達的意思。即超級細菌。

Some closing thoughts

學(xué)習(xí)總結(jié)

And now for some closing thoughts.

下面讓我們做個簡短的總結(jié)。

Learning to use context clues can take time. Don't pressure yourself to be great at the skill too quickly.

學(xué)會上下文線索的使用需要我們花上一定時間。請不要給自己太大的壓力。

Also, it is often not necessary to know the meaning of every word to understand what you are reading. So the next time you come across a word you don't know, ask yourself whether you can understand the sentence without it.

此外，閱讀時，沒有必要非得弄懂所有單詞的意思。試著在下次閱讀時，獨自思考一下，要是不翻譯句子中的生詞，是否會對閱讀理解造成影響。